Throwoff mechanism



Dec. 23, 1952 A, KLUGE ETAL 2,622,525

THROWOFF MECHANISM Filed July 27, 1949 2 SHEETS- SHEET l 3mm ABEL KLUGE AND HENRY A. BRANDTJEN ATTORNEYS Dec. 23, 1952 A. KLUGE EI'AL THROWOFF MECHANISM 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 Filed July 27 1949 III ABEL KLUGE AND HENRY 'A. BRANDTJ EN aa/d ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. '23, 1952 THROVVOFF MECHANISM Abel Kluge, Woodbury Township, Washington County, and Henry A. Brandtjen, Lakeville Township, Dakota County, Minn., assignors to Brandtje'n and Kluge, Inc., St. Paul, Minn a corporation of Minnesota Application July 27, 1949, Serial No. 107,084

6 Claims. 1

Our invention relates to improvements in throw-off mechanisms for printing presses and particularly printing presses of the Gordon type equipped with pneumatic sheet feeding means.

A self-fed printing press of the Gordon type with automatic throw-off mechanism of the nature of that shown in the present application is disclosed in Patent No. 1,472,656, granted October 30, 1923, to A. Kluge et al. In said patented construction, the tiltable bed of the press swings forwardly and rearwardly to and from impression position, there being a hand-lever at one side of the press frame movable in one direction to throw off the press and arrest the forward swing of the bed short of its impression position, said hand-lever being movable in the opposite direction to throw on the press and permit the bed to complete its normal forward swing into impression position. The pneumatic sheet feeding device in said patented construction includes a suction grip supported on a hollow suction standard, said grip being movable to take sheets one at a time from a pack thereof and carry them to the platen of the press. Said suction standard is connected with a suction pump-and being employed between the hand-lever and the bed of the press at the side thereof occupied by said hand-lever. A lost-motion connection is provided between link and bed, said connection being adapted to be deprived of its lost motion to cause the press to be thrown off automatically, through the intermediary of said handlever, upon a forward swing of the bed accompanied by failure of the suction grip to grasp a sheet. The means disclosed in said patented construction for depriving said connection of and restoring lost motion thereto includes a piston within said suction standard said piston being one of a number of members in an actuating train some of which members are mounted on the press frame and others thereof on the rocking bed, the train of said members extending around the back of the press from one side thereof to the other.

Another self-fed printing press with automatic throw-off mechanism of the nature of that shown in the present application is disclosed in Patent No. 1,959,209, granted May 15, 1934, to A. Kluge et al. This second patented construction, insofar as the present application is concerned, is comparable to said first patented construction, the means for depriving the connection between link and bed of its lost motion including a piston within the suction standard and a train of members between piston and lostmotion connection mounted, in part on the rocking bed and extending around the back of the press from one side thereof to the other.

The throw-off mechanisms of said patented constructions have served well in practice but have left something to be desired from the standpoint of reliably quick action under all of the varying conditions in use and from the standpoints of noise and of costs of manufacture, assembly, normal repair, and the repair of parts accidentally damaged by reason of their exposed positions in the long train thereof around the back of the press.

In devising the present invention, it has been our purpose to provide an improved throw-ofi mechanism of the character above indicated which is of relatively simple, durable, inexpensive, noiseless and highly efficient construction requiring a minimum of attention in the use and servicing of the same.

More specifically the instant invention is featured by the employment of relatively few parts in the mechanism for automatically shifting the throw-off hand-lever and by mounting said parts substantially entirely upon the link between the throw-off hand-lever and the bed of the press.

The present invention is further featured by the employment of a pneumatic actuator of the diaphragm type and by means for multiplying and transmitting motion of the diaphragm to a latch finger operable effectively to deprive the connection between link and bed of its lost motion in the event of failure of the suction grip to grasp a sheet.

Other features of the invention reside in the novel combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction herein illustrated and/or described.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a printing press of the Gordon type equipped with a throw-oil mechanism embodying the present invention, the parts of said mechanism being shown in the relationship assumed thereby when the press is thrown off to forestall the complete closing of the press elements and thus prevent an impression therebetween;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the relation of parts assumed in said mechanism to admit of the complete closing of the press elements to effect an impression;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged elevational view in detail Fig. is a plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional View in detail taken as on the line 66 of Fig. 3, and

Fig. 7 is an enlarged elevational view in detail of the pneumatic actuator, portions thereof being broken away to reveal otherwise hidden parts.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, it will be observed that the illustrated printing press is of the familiar Gordon type having a platen l3 rockably supported on a frame II and having 9.

bed l2 tiltably mounted on said frame. The bed 12 has the usual rockable back shaft l3 formed at its ends with eccentric studs l4 connected. through side arms 5 with crank disks !6 on the front shaft ll of the press. to the back shaft I3 for rocking the same from one angular position to another, whereby the bed I2 is caused to close upon the platen it completely or not completely to effect an impression or to avoid an impression. A reversely movable I.-

throw-off hand-lever I9 is medially pivoted to the press frame H and is connected with said arm I8 on the back shaft l3 through a link 23, lever 2| and link 22. Interposed between said hand-lever l9 and bed 12 is a link 23 which is reciprocable substantially horizontally, said link 23 being pivotally connected at its forward end, as at 24, to the hand-lever I3 and connected at its rearward end with the bed [2 through a lostmotion connection.

In the present improved construction, the lostmotion connection between the link 23 and bed I2 is of the pin-and-slot type, said link having a slot 25 formed therein longitudinally thereof. Slidably received in said slot 25 is a pin 26, the same being threaded into the end of a boss 21 cast on the leg 28 of the bed 12. This pin 23 is preferably provided with a roller bearing as at 29 (Fig. 6), which is accommodated within said slot 25 and ridden by the upper wall 30 thereof. The rear end wall 3| of the slot 25 constitutes a catch for engagement by the bearing-equipped pin 26, whereby, upon a rearward swing of the bed I2, the link 23 is shifted into its rearmost position if not positioned theretofore. The length of the slot 25 in relation to the stroke of the pin 26 is such that the bearin roller 29 does not con tact the end wall at the front end of said slot 25. Thus, with the throw-off hand-lever I9 positioned to cause impressions to be taken between the bed l2 and platen [0 (Fig. 2), the pin 23 merely plays back and forth in the slot 25 without effect.

The means of our invention for depriving said pin-and-slot connection of lost motion includes a latch finger 32 pivoted at its forward end to the link 23 forwardly of the slot 25 by means of a pivot bolt 33. This latch finger 32 generally parallels the link 23, the free rearward end thereof being disposed adjacent to the rearward end of the slot 25 in link 23. Said free end of said latch finger 32 is notched to form a downwardly facing shoulder or stop 34 and a rearwardly facing abutment 35, said stop 34 being adapted to engage the upper side of the pin 26 An arm I8 is secured 1 to limit the downward swing of the latch finger 32 and said abutment 35 being adapted, in such downwardly swung position of the latch finger 32, to be engaged by the forward side of said pin 26. This engagement of the pin 26 by the stop 34 and abutment 35 of the latch finger 32 occurs when the pin 26 is in its rearmost position and when said latch finger 32 is swung downwardly into its lowermost or operative position (Figs. 1 and 3). The effect of such engagement between pin 26 and latch finger 32 is to deprive the pin 26 of freedom of forward movement in the slot 25 of link 23, whereby such movement of said pin 23 is imparted to said link 23 and thence to the hand-lever [9 which is swung to throw-off the press and thus prevent the bed [2 from carrying the printing form thereon into impression position.

To swing the latch finger 32 upwardly out of the operative position thereof, as seen in Figs. 1 and 3, into its inoperative position (Figs. 2 and 4) wherein the abutment 35 is non-engageable by the pin 26, we provide a pneumatic actuator A and an actuating lever 36 operated thereby, said lever in turn, operating to swing said latch finger 32 upwardly. Like said latch finger 32, the said pneumatic actuator A and the said actuating lever 36 are carried by the link 23, there being no complicated train of moving parts extending around the back of the press as heretofore with some of the parts mounted on a stationary member of the press and others of said parts mounted on a movable member thereof.

The pneumatic actuator A includes an annular frame or body 31 having an offset depending flange 38 which is fastened by bolts 39 to the link 23 in position locating said annular body 37 in a substantially horizontal plane forwardly removed from the latch finger 32. A diaphragm 40 of suitable flexible material is marginally supported on said annular body 31. Capping said diaphragm 40, is a dome-like cover 4|. This cover 4| is clamped against the diaphragm 40 and the diaphragm, in turn, is clamped against said annular body 3'! means of screws 42 which extend through body 31 and diaphragm 40 and screw into the marginal portion 43 of said cover 4|. The lower face of the diaphragm 40 is exposed to the atmosphere and attached to and depending from said diaphragm centrally thereof is a pull-stem 44. The attachment of said pull-stem 44 to said diaphragm 40 is accomplished by means of a headed screw 45 which extends through a central aperture in the diaphragm 40 and screws into a threaded axial bore formed in the upper end of said pull-stem 44. Cooperating with said attaching screw 45 and pull-stem 44 to strengthen the connection between said pull-stem and the diaphragm 4D is a centrally apertured reinforcing disk 46 overlying the central portion of the upper face of said diaphragm 40 and a washer 41 underlying the central portion of the lower face of said diaphragm. Said apertured reinforcing disk 46 and washer 47 receive the attaching screw 45 which, when snugly screwed into the pull-stem 44, acts to clamp said disk 43 and washer 4'! against opposite sides of the diaphragm 40 with the result that the connection between said diaphragm 40 and pull-stem 44 is rendered secure and substantially rigid. The diaphragm 40 and cover 4| together form a suction chamber 48. A nipple 49 threaded into the cover 41 communicates with said suction chamber 48 and is connected by means of a hose 50 to a metallic tube 5| extending along and fastened to the upper edge of the link 23. In turn, said metallic tube 5| is connected by means of a hose 52 to the suction line of the feeding mechanism of the press. Such suction line and feeding mechanism are disclosed in said Patents Nos. 1,472,656 and 1,959,209 and being now well known in the art, we have not illustrated and described the same herein.

The actuating lever 36 underreaches the body 31 of the pneumatic actuator A, the forward end of said lever 36 being fulcrumed on the attaching flange 33 of said actuator A by means of a pivot bolt 53. The opposite or rearward end of said lever 36 is formed with a slot 54 therein longitudinally thereof. The pull-stem 43 of the actuator A is pivotally connected with said actuating lever 33 by means of a bolt 55, this connection being made at a point intermediately of the lever 36, but relatively proximate to the forward pivoted end thereof. When suction is created in the suction chamber 33 of the actuator A, the diaphragm All thereof is flexed upwardly causing the pull-stem M to swing the actuating lever 33 upwardly, thereby lifting its free slotted end. The movement of the diaphragm 40 is desirably relatively small, but imparted to said free end of the lever 36, said small movement is multiplied by reason of the relatively long lever arm between said free end of the lever 33 and the point of attachment of said lift-stem M to i said lever 36.

A pivot pin 56 is fixed to the latch finger 32 at a, point relative proximate to the bolt 33 pivoting said latch finger 32 to the link 23. Said pivot pin 56 is slidably received in the slot 54 at the free end of the actuating lever 33, as best seen in Fig. 5. By virtue of this pivotal sliding connection between said actuating lever 36 and said latch finger 32, the latter is swung upwardly when the free end of said lever 33 is lifted, the upward movement of the free end of said latch finger, as compared with the upward movement of said free end of the lever 33, being multiplied. Because of said two stages of multiplied movement, the free end of the latch finger 32 is lifted instantaneously and far enough to clear the abutment from the pin 23 upon a very slight upward flexing of the diaphragm w. A tension spring 51, secured at its lower end to an anchoring pin 58 in the link 23, is caught at its upper end about said pivot pin 56. This spring 51. in the absence of suction within the suction chamber 48 of the actuator A, insures the quick descent of the latch finger 32 into its depressed operative position (Figs. 1 and 3). Normally, suction will be maintained within the suction chamber 48 of the actuator A with the result that the diaphragm 40, through the lift-stem 44 and lever 33, will hold the latch finger 32 in its elevated inoperative position (Figs. 2 and 4) against the action of said spring 51. Interruption of the suction, thus sustaining said latch finger 32, will occur in advance of the forward tilting of the bed I2 toward impression position and at a time when the suction line is opened to the suction grip of the pneumatic feeding mechanism and when said grip is stationed to take a sheet from the supply pack, and will only then occur upon the failure of the grip to grasp a sheet. Such failure of the grip to grasp a sheet is attended with the admission of outer air to the grip in such volume as to weaken the suction in the suction chamber 43 of the actuator A to such an extent that the power of the diaphragm is insufiicient to sustain said latch finger 32 in elevated position against the action of the spring 51. Devoid of such sustaining influence of the diaphragm 43, the latch fin ger 32 is swung downwardly by the spring 3'! into operative position with its abutment 35 in front of the pin 26. Thence, upon a forward swing of the bed l2, the pin 26 engages the latch finger 32 causing the link 23 to be thrust rearwardly and to swing the throw-off hand-lever [9 in a direction forestalling an impression at the end of the forward swing of said bed. Upon the rearward return swing of the bed l2, the pin 26 through its bearing roller 23 engages the rear catch-forming wall 3! of the slot 25 in link 23 returning said link rearwardly and thereupon reversing the position of said throw-01f handlever [9 to prepare the bed [2 for an impression upon its next forward swing. During said rearward return thrust of the link 23, suction in normal measure is restored in the suction chamber 48 of the actuator A. The diaphragm 40 then raises the latch finger 32 into its elevated inoperative position where it is held in the event that a sheet is grasped by the suction grip at the outset of the next cycle of the press. Failure of the grip to grasp a sheet at such stage in the operation of the press is attended with the prompt descent of the latch finger 32 to its operative position and the press is again thrown off. Thus, it will be understood that so long as a sheet is properly grasped by the suction feed grip at the outset of each cycle of the press, the latch finger 32 will be elevated and the pin 23 will play forth and back without effect in the slot 25 in the link 23. Also, it will be understood that when the suction grip fails to grasp a sheet in any cycle of the press, the pin 26, through the then depressed latch finger 32, will first thrust the link 23 forwardly with the forward swing of the bed 12 to throw off the press and then, through engagement with the latch-forming end wall 3! of the slot 25 in said link 23, will return the link rearwardly with the rearward swing of the bed l2 to throw the press on again.

A keeper 59 applied to the pin 23 includes a boss 63 formed with a bore to receive the outer end of said pin, said boss carrying a set screw 6| which is turned against the pin 26 to secure the keeper 59 in place thereon. Formed integrally with the lower portion of the boss 60 is an inwardly facing abutment 62 and integrally formed with the upper portion of the boss 60 is an upright guide 63, said guide having an inturned stop 34 formed integrally therewith. The abutment 62 serves as an outer guide for the link 32 and also holds the roller bearing 23 on the pin 26 and against outward dislodgment from the slot 25 in said link 23. The upright guide 63 serves as an outer guiding element for the latch finger 32, and the stop 34 catches the upper edge of said latch finger 32 and limits its elevation under the lifting force of the diaphragm 40 of the actuator A.

From the foregoing, it is seen that the pinand-slot connection between the link 23 and bed 12 and the means for depriving said connection of lost motion, as presently employed, result in a highly simplified, durable and efficient throw-off mechanism which may be economically manufactured, installed and serviced, and which is relatively quiet in operation and not readily susceptible to accidental damage shortening its longevity or detrimentally affecting the operation thereof. Contributing to the efficiency of said mechanism the diaphragm of the diaphragm actuator moves through a relatively short distance with uniform freedom and reliable despatch under all conditions of use.

Changes in the specific form of our invention, as herein described, may be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of our invention.

Having described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. Throw-off mechanism for a self-feeding printing press of the Gordon type having a tiltable bed swingable forwardly and rearwardly to and from impression position, a lever operable to throw on and to throw off the press, a pneumatic sheet feeding device including a suction grip and a conduit communicating therewith in which suction exists in the sheet grasping positions of said grip, said throw-off mechanism including a reciprocable link connected at its forward end to said lever, said link having a slidable connection at its rearward end with said bed and having a catch thereon adapted to coact with the bed upon the rearward throw thereof to shift the link rearwardly and throw on the press, self -operating latch means mounted on said link and coacting with the bed upon the forward throw thereof to shift the link forwardly and throw off the press, and pneumatic actuating means mounted on said link and connected with the suction conduit of the press, said actuating means coacting with said latch means to render the same ineffective when the suction grip grasps a sheet.

2. Throw-01f mechanism for a self-feeding printing press of the Gordon type having a tiltable bed swingable forwardly and rearwardly to and from impression position, a lever operable to throw on and to throw on the press, a pneumatic sheet feeding device including a suction grip and a conduit communicating therewith in which suction exists in the sheet grasping positions of said grip, said throw-01f mechanism including a substantially horizontally reciprocable link extending fore and aft of the press and formed at its rearward end with a slot therein longitudinally thereof, said link having a connection at its forward end with said lever and having a sliding pivotal connection at its rearward end with said bed, said last mentioned con nection including a pin extending from said bed and slidably received in said slot in said link, the rearward end of said slot constituting a catch adapted to be engaged by said pin upon the rearward throw of the bed to shift said link rearwardly and throw on the press, self-operating latch means mounted on said reciprocable link and adapted to coact with said pin upon the forward throw of the bed to shift the link forwardly and throw off the press, a pneumatic actuator also mounted on said link, a flexible suction tube bringing said actuator into communication with the suction conduit of the press, said actuator being operably connected with said latch means and adapted to render the same ineffective when the suction grip grasps a sheet.

3. Throw-01f mechanism for a self-feeding printing press of the Gordon type having a tiltable bed swingable forwardly and rearwardly to and from impression position, a hand-lever operable to throw on and to throw of? the press, a pneumatic sheet feeding device including a suction grip and a conduit communicating therewith in which suction exists in the sheet grasping positions of said grip, said throw-off mechanism including a reciprocable link connected at its forward end to said hand-lever and formed at its rearward end with a slot therein longitudinally thereof, a pin extending from said bed and slidably received in said slot in said link, said pin and slot comprising a sliding connection between said link and bed, the rearward end of said slot constituting a catch for engagement by said pin upon the rearward throw of the bed to swing the hand-lever in one direction and thereby throw on the press, a latch finger pivotally mounted on said reciprocable link and formed with an abutment, said latch finger being swingable to and from an operative position for the engagement of said abutment by said pin upon the forward throw of the bed to swing the hand-lever in a reverse direction and thereby throw off the press, a pneumatic actuator comprising a body carried by said link, a diaphragm mounted on said body with one side thereof exposed to the atmosphere, a dome-like cover capping the diaphragm and forming therewith a suction chamber, a suction tube leading from said cover to the said suction conduit of the press, said tube bringing said conduit into communication with said suction chamber of said actuator, a pull-stem issuing from said diaphragm, an actuating lever pivotally mounted at on end thereof on said link and formed at its free end with a slot therein longitudinally thereof, a pivot pin issuing from the latch finger near its pivoted end and slidably received in said slot in said actuating lever, said pull-stem being connected to said actuating lever near its pivoted end, said actuator operating through its said diaphragm and pull-stem and through said actuating lever to swing said latch finger out of its said operative position when the suction grip grasps a heet, a tension spring anchored at one end to said link and connected at its other end to the pivot pin in said latch finger, said spring acting yieldingly to swing said latch finger into its said operative position upon failure of the suction grip to grasp a sheet.

4. Throw-01f mechanism for a self-feeding printing press of the Gordon type having a tiltable bed swingable forwardly and rearwardly to and from impression position, a hand-lever operable to throw on and to throw off the press, a pneumatic sheet feeding device including a suction grip and a conduit communicating therewith in which suction exists in the sheet grasping positions of said grip, said throw-off mechanism including a reciprocable link connected at its forward end to said hand-lever and formed at its rearward end with a slot therein longitudinally thereof, a pin extending from said bed and slidably received in said slot in said link, said pin and slot comprising a sliding connection between said link and bed, the rearward end of said slot constituting a catch for engagement by said pin upon the rearward throw of the bed to swing the hand lever in one direction and thereby throw on the press, a latch finger pivotally mounted on said reciprocable link and formed with an abutment, said latch finger being swingable to and from an operative position for the engagement of said abutment by said pin upon the forward throw f the bed to swing the handlever in a reverse direction and thereby throw off 1e press, a pneumatic actuator comprising a body carried by said link, a diaphragm mounted on said body with one side thereof exposed to the atmosphere, a dome-like cover capping the diaphragm and forming therewith a suction chamber, a suction tube leading from said cover to the said suction conduit of the press, said tube bringing said conduit into communication with said suction chamber of said actuator, and a pull-stem issuing from said diaphragm, an actuating lever pivotally mounted at one end thereof on said link and pivoted at its other end to said latch finger, said pull-stem being connected to said actuating lever, said actuator operating through its said diaphragm and pull-stem and through said actuating lever to swing said latch finger out of its said operative position when the suction grip grasps a sheet, and yielding means acting to swing said latch finger into its said operative position upon failure of said suction grip to grasp a sheet.

5. Throw-off mechanism for a self-feeding printing press of the Gordon type having a tiltable bed swingable forwardly and rearwardly to and from impression position, a hand-lever operable to throw on and to throw off the press, a pneumatic sheet feeding device including a suction grip and a conduit communicating there with in which suction exists in the sheet grasping positions of said grip, said throw-off mechanism including a reciprocable link connected at its forward end to said hand-lever and formed at its rearward end with a slot therein longitudinally thereof, a pin extending from said bed and slidably received in said slot in said link, said pin and slot comprising a sliding connection between said link and bed, the rearward end of said slot constituting a catch for engagement by said pin upon the rearward throw of the bed to swing the hand-lever in one direction and thereby throw on the press, a latch finger pivotally mounted on said reciprocable link and formed with an abutment, said latch finger being swingable to and from an operative position for the engagement of said abutment by said pin upon the forward throw of the bed to swing the hand-lever in a reverse direction and thereby throw off the press, a pneumatic actuator comprising a body carried by said link, a diaphragm mounted on said body with one side thereof exposed to the atmosphere, a dome-like cover capping the diaphragm and forming therewith a suction chamber, a suction tube leading from said cover to the said suction conduit of the press, said tube bringing said conduit into communication with said suction chamber of said actuator, a pull-stem issuing from said diaphragm, motion transmitting means carried by said link, said means being interposed between said pull- 10 stem and latch finger and adapted to multiply and to impart movement from said pull-stem to said latch finger to swing the latter out of its said operative position when the suction grip grasps a sheet.

6. Throw-off mechanism for a self-feeding printing press of the Gordon type having a tiltable bed swingable forwardly and rearwardly to and from impression position, a hand-lever operable to throw on and to throw off the press, a pneumatic sheet feeding device including a suction grip and a conduit communicating therewith in which suction exists in the sheet grasping positions of said grip, said throw-off mechanism including a reciprocable link connected at its forward end to said hand-lever and formed at its rearward end with a slot therein longitudinally thereof, a pin extending from said bed and slidably received in said slot in said link, said pin and slot comprising a sliding connection between said link and bed, the rearward end of said slot constituting a catch for engagement by said pin upon the rearward throw of the bed to swing the hand-lever in one direction and thereby throw on the press, a latch finger pivotally mounted on said reciprocable link and formed with an abutment, said latch finger being swingable to and from an operative position for the engagement of said abutment by said pin upon the forward throw of the bed to swing the hand-lever in a reverse direction and thereby throw on th press, a pneumatic actuator carried by said link and communicating with the suction conduit of the press, said actuator including a pull-stem, motion transmitting means also carried by said link and activated by said pull-stem, said motion transmitting means coacting with said latch finger to swing the same out of its said operative position when the suction grip grasps a sheet.

ABEL KLUGE. HENRY A. BRANDTJEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 625,572 Lanier May 23, 1899 1,752,744 King Apr. 1, 1930 2,152,698 Kluge et a1. Apr. 4, 1939 

